UWA Grand Challenges Summit 2022

The UWA Tsuha Global Fellows Program supports eight next generation leaders from across the globe, providing opportunities to implement projects in their home country related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, ultimately improving the lives of people in their home countries.  

About Ian

Dr Ian Li is an economist focusing on improving wellbeing and socioeconomic outcomes for the public. Some of Ian’s focus areas include, Australian higher education policy and graduate outcomes, Determinants and consequences of mental health and distress, and Health workforce development and planning.  Ian is a chief investigator on grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council, WA Health Promotion Foundation Healthway and the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. In 2017, he received a national award for Excellence and Innovation in Public Health Teaching from the Council of Academic Public Health Institutions Australasia.

The emphasis on ‘vaccine hesitancy’ has enabled governments worldwide to pin the problem of sub-optimal vaccine uptake on individuals. Popular accounts attribute non-vaccination to misinformation, a lack of education, or selfishness, but there are often problems with access that governments should address alongside acceptance issues. Each generation and social group must be continually socialised into the practice of vaccination, which relies on them feeling supported by their governments and trusting public health and other government-funded systems. Governments need to invest in immunisation and health programs, and be willing to study, partner with and reach out to marginalized groups. 

About Katie

Katie Attwell is an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellow, and a global expert in vaccine hesitancy and vaccination policies. She leads the interdisciplinary project, “Coronavax: Preparing Community and Government”, which engages in community and government research in readiness for a vaccine roll-out for COVID-19, funded by Wesfarmers and the WA Health Department. A/Prof Attwell frequently shares her research and insights globally with the academic field, governments, technical specialists, and the media.

Despite growing evidence that irreversible tipping points may have been triggered in the climate system, the politics of climate change remain marred by delay and confusion. It is in this context that communities and investors are increasingly turning to the law to express demands for climate action – and with increasing success. In this keynote, Zoe will explore the role that law has to play in addressing the climate crisis, particularly in Australia’s unique legal and political landscape.

About Zoe

Zoe is a climate change litigator at the Environmental Defenders Office and Adjunct Lecturer at UWA Law School. Zoe was previously a Fellow at Law for Black Lives in the US and holds a Master of Laws from Columbia University. She started her career as an Associate at the Federal Court of Australia before joining the State Solicitor’s Office. In 2019, she was awarded WA Young Woman Lawyer of the Year.

Together we can do a lot to propagate education for sustainable development. In this workshop, we will showcase five projects that are targeted to provide education for sustainable development in Perth, including lessons learned and discussion about the challenges and how they were overcome.

There will be five speakers presenting at this workshop:

• Dr Sonja Kuzich, Co-Convener for the Education Committee of the United Nations Association of Western Australia
• Miranda Taylor, CEO of National Energy Resources Australia (NERA)
• Dr David Blair, Founder of Einstein First
• Millennium Kids
• Laura Alvin, Member of the Senior Team of On My Feet

Who should register for this workshop?

• High school students
• Current university students
• Community members
• Academics
• Representatives from Government, Business, Industry and NGOs

Workshop contact: Yad Jadoo

The effects of work on well-being are well established and documented by a growing body of research. Healthy and productive workplaces are of paramount importance to supporting employee engagement, voice and equity. We also know that work affects active citizenship within organisational life, and externally in communities. We need ethical, just and healthy workplaces to maintain and strengthen the economy and the general wellbeing of society. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought these concerns to the forefront of public debate inclusive of media commentary on the possibility of a ‘great resignation’ from workplaces that do not support equitable and healthy employment. Importantly, the challenges of climate change will accelerate the need for ethical, just and healthy workplaces going forward. 

In this workshop, featuring participation from UWA Business School researchers, we will canvas the question of what are the attributes of ethical, just and healthy workplaces? Our research highlights the following as being of significance:

• Responsible Leadership and Shared Principles
• Meaningful Voice
• Safety and Well Being
• Transparency and Accountability for Impact
• Inclusion and Diversity

We invite you to attend our Grand Challenges Workshop to both clarify and expand this list and identify key strategies that can put   these into action. Our workshop is hosted by the Management and Organisations discipline at the UWA Business School.

Who should register for this workshop? 

• High school students
• Current university students
• Community members
• Academics
• Representatives from Government, Business, Industry and NGOs

Workshop contact: Donella Caspersz 

UWA has an ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025 (and include its supply chain emissions by no later than 2040). We would like your help to get there. In this 90 minute workshop we will explore collaborative strategies and actions we could be taking to reduce our emissions.

Who should register for this workshop?  

• High school students
• Current university students
• Community members
• Academics
• Representatives from Government, Business, Industry and NGOs

Workshop contact: Geraldine Tan

This workshop will provide you with invaluable insight into how to design social and environmental impact projects. You will leave this workshop feeling, inspired, equipped and empowered to make a difference in your community. 

If you are considering applying for the Making a Difference Next Gen or Impact grants, then this workshop is highly recommended.

Who should register for this workshop? 

• High school students
• Current university students

Workshop contact: [email protected]

The New Wave of Climate Change Litigation

Chair: Professor Alex Gardner, UWA Law School, with presentations by three lawyers from the Environmental Defenders Office, Perth office: Ruby Hamilton, Tim Macknay and Zoe Bush. 

This workshop will inform you about four important climate change cases currently running in Australian courts that could greatly affect the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from Australian fossil fuel projects. You will hear highly informed short presentations on the cases and have the opportunity to discuss the key issues and legal significance of these cases.

10.45 – 11.30: The Conservation Council of WA v Woodside litigation – two cases in the Supreme Court of WA under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) regarding:

• the lack of full environmental impact assessment for the Burrup Hub gas processing facilities  
  - Ruby Hamilton, Solicitor, Environmental Defenders Office, Perth

• the grant of a works approval for the development of Pluto Gas Plant Train 2
  - Tim Macknay, Managing Lawyer, Environmental Defenders Office, Perth;

11.30 – 12.15: Two cases in the Federal Court of Australia under Commonwealth legislation regarding:

• A duty of care of the Commonwealth Minister for Environment – the Sharma Case, heard on appeal by the Federal Court in October 2021, and
  Corporate law liabilities and duties to be open and truthful about climate change risk – the Santos ‘clean energy’ case,
  - Zoe Bush, Senior Solicitor, Environmental Defenders Office, Perth.

Who should register for this workshop?

• High school students
• Current university students
• Community members
• Academics
• Representatives from Government, Business, Industry and NGOs

Workshop contact: Alex Gardner

Globally, a gender gap exists in health. While women tend to live longer than men in most countries, a number of biological and social factors combine to create a lower quality of life for women and girls. As a global leader in the university sector, UWA can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for gender equality, empowerment and well-being, thus reducing this gender gap. 

This workshop will focus on tangible ideas for how we can strategically contribute, drawing on UWA’s excellence in teaching, research and action. We will begin with short showcase presentations on collaborative and interdisciplinary projects already underway at UWA. Facilitators will then open the floor for collaborative discussion and ideas generation: what can we do together to create a more just and equitable world post COVID-19?

Who should register for this workshop? 

• High school students
• Current university students
• Community members
• Academics
• Representatives from Government, Business, Industry and NGOs
• Current UWA staff - research, teaching, professional, adjunct and their collaborators

Workshop contacts: Demelza Ireland, Caitlin Wyrwoll and Dani Barrington

This workshop will be run by social science researchers from Coronavax, a project that investigates Western Australians’ concerns, motivations and information needs regarding COVID-19 vaccination. Attendees will be invited to share their experiences regarding how they feel coming out of high school in the current COVID-19 climate, discuss what kinds of conversations they’ve had with friends and family about vaccination, and (if they want to) consider strategies for vaccine advocacy.

Who should register for this workshop? 

• High school students
• Current university students
• Community members
• Academics
• Representatives from Government, Business, Industry and NGOs
• Current UWA staff - research, teaching, professional, adjunct and their collaborator

Workshop contact: Katie Attwell

This workshop will discuss linguistic diversity and how to make the world a more inclusive place. We will work collaboratively to identify the top five barriers to linguistic diversity and inclusion, and we will develop a plan to tackle these in turn. What can we do every day to overcome these obstacles? Overarching change starts small. This workshop will set you on your path to a better world.

Who should register for this workshop? 

• High school students
• Current university students
• Community members
• Academics
• Representatives from Government, Business, Industry and NGOs

Workshop contact: Celeste Rodriguez Louro

This workshop will focus on how to use the Biodesign process to identify and characterise unmet clinical needs in underserved populations and develop solutions to these problems. The session will begin with a case study of EarBuddy, a WA start-up company that is developing a non-surgical solution to chronic ear infections, a problem that disproportionately affects Australian Indigenous children. Afterwards, participants will have hands-on experience extracting and characterising unmet clinical needs from a real-life patient scenario and learn how to go through the steps of the Biodesign process of identify, invent and implement.

Who should register for this workshop? 

• High school students
• Current university students
• Community members
• Academics
• Representatives from Government, Business, Industry and NGOs

Workshop contact: Kevin Pfleger

Professor Kevin Pfleger is Director of Biomedical Innovation at UWA and the MTPConnect WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub. He is also Head of Molecular Endocrinology and Pharmacology at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, President of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists, Deputy Director of the Australian Research Council Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Chief Scientific Advisor to ASX-listed Dimerix and co-Founder of RAGE Biotech. 

Professor Pfleger co-founded the UWA BioZone initiative and works with colleagues to drive the Biodesign portfolio of offerings, including bootcamps and iPREP Biodesign industry placements, as well as Medtech and Digital Health courses.

Julia is the Co-Founder of ULUU and is a highly regarded marine scientist and adjunct fellow at UWA. She holds a doctorate in plastic pollution with more than 15 years of experience leading R&D for universities, technology companies and foundations, including The Ocean Cleanup, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and, most recently, with Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation. Julia is also completing her MBA at UWA and has a PHD, Masters and Honours in Oceanography.

ULUU is replacing plastic, fighting climate change and improving our health. ULUU is an ocean material to mitigate plastic pollution at scale, while also regenerating our oceans and climate. The company produces a versatile range of natural polymers, PHAs (polyhydroxalkanoates), with the potential to replace all kinds of plastics, combined with a clean production process using ocean resources – seaweed, seawater and saltwater microbes.

Dr Antoine Musu is the Co-Founder and Director of the Commercialisation Studies Centre and an educator in entrepreneurial thinking and learning and strategically managing a business. Dr Musu teaches at UWA Business School where he assists students to learn how to evaluate, analyse, share, and apply what they’ve learned in their peer setting. His ambition is to support individuals and organizations to do well in the spaces they chose to be in and how to sustain this practice.

Before his academic role, Dr Musu had a career as a professional hotelier and in the development and management of private membership clubs. He has also worked with owner-operated companies and with international corporations in many countries.